Total playing time 62:11 Recorded in the Église de Notre Dame du Liban, Paris, in February 2010 Engineered by Manuel Mohino Produced by Dominique Daigremont Executive producer: Carlos Céster Design: Valentín Iglesias Booklet essay: Fannie Vernaz English Français Deutsch Español

The richness and splendour of French Baroque sacred music, by turns gravely sombre and spectacularly exuberant, have already been amply demonstrated by Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel through their series of recordings on Glossa of music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. But it was not just in Paris or in the country’s religious foundations that such involved music-making was called upon, but also in cities such as Troyes and Châlons-sur-Marne where Pierre Bouteiller, maître de musique in cathedrals there during the reign of Louis XIV, composed his Missa pro defunctis, a beautiful setting scored for five voice parts with instrumental accompaniment.

The 1693 religious ceremony for which this Missa pro defunctis was written would have required Bouteiller (who later on in his career moved to the French capital) to find other suitable pieces from the time to complete the service and in the spirit of a modern-day reconstruction Hervé Niquet, employing his consummate flair and experience in this musical arena, has chosen to entice us not only with the substantial Stabat mater by Sébastien de Brossard (an early champion of Pierre Bouteiller's qualities), but also with instrumental versions of pieces by compositional talents even less recognizable today – Henri Frémart, Louis Le Prince and Pierre Hugard.

With a dozen male voices, low strings and organ, Hervé Niquet recreates the incredible French “cathedral sound” from the turn of the 18th century.

Hervé Niquet is far less interested in being known as a Baroque music specialist than for his passionate interest in all of French music, especially its vocal and lyrical compositions and nowadays he is as liable to be found directing a symphony orchestra as his own period instrument ensemble Le Concert Spirituel. It may come, for some, as a surprise to find Niquet teaming up with the Brussels Philharmonic to record Debussy but this future release will mark the inauguration of a new adventure for Niquet and Glossa focusing on the music associated with the Prix de Rome competition which drew in scores of leading French composers all the way from 1803 through 1968. [read more...]

Taking a leading role in the revival of tragédies lyriques (or tragédies en musique), the best of the French Baroque opera tradition, is a long, daunting (and expensive) challenge but one which Hervé Niquet has been keen to accept. Present as a singer in the chorus of Les Arts Florissants in 1987 when William Christie put on Lully’s Atys, Niquet formed his own ensemble, Le Concert Spirituel that same year. Since that time he has balanced his own endeavours to stage (and record) key French tragédies with his other musical interests, which extend from Monteverdi to Purcell and Handel (soon to be reissued – now on SACD – is Niquet’s recording of the Fireworks and Water Music suites) right the way through to later composers such as Schumann, Gounod and d’Indy.[read more...]